Issues seven and eight of the series are tie-ins to "War of the Realms", a Thor-centered event written by Jason Aaron that was occurring at the time. Said issues featured Otto teaming up with both the West Coast Avengers and the Fantastic Four as they dealt with the Ice Giants roaming across the United States. I'm skipping these issues given the broader scope of the event itself and me wanting to keep focused on Otto's own stories. On a side note, I will say though that I found "War of the Realms" the best Marvel event I've read since "AXIS". It's easily accessible, features a wide cast from many corners of the Marvel universe, and it's just plain fun. With that said, it's time to look the final four issues of the Superior Spider-Man.
Issue nine begins with Otto as Spider-Man being presented the key to the city by the mayor of San Francisco for all his heroic accomplishments. As Otto begins his acceptance speech, he seems at a loss of words and then claims that an emergency is in progress that he must attend to. This turns out to be a lie though as we see Otto returned to his lab at Horizon University, claiming that such a ceremony was a waste of time he could be using for more important things. Anna Maria finds this behavior odd since Otto usually wants recognition for his work. Said behavior is also shown when Otto runs into Emma. With some time passing since their disastrous first date and realizing the good work he's done, Emma asks Otto if he wants to give it another try. Otto rudely declines, saying it's not best for either of them and that she should question her mental state to ask such a question.
The next day, Otto has to deal with a supervillain terrorizing the citizens of San Francisco: a Z-lister named Turner D. Century, a villain obsessed with the 19th century and dresses accordingly, even down to a handlebar moustache. You know, this is one of the things I've loved about Otto having his own series apart from Peter's, which is one of the flagship Marvel books. It allows for the writers to really cut loose and have some fun since this iteration of "Superior Spider-Man" isn't that high a priority. Hell, Turner reveals his intentions are to kill all hipsters. It's so ludicrous and yet I love it. Anyway, Turner reveals his Time Horn, which blasts a frequency that is lethal to the nervous systems of anyone below middle aged. Otto is unaffected considering his mind is much older than his current body is. Otto then begins wailing on Turner until he's stopped by the arrival of the one true Spider-Man, Peter Parker.
After webbing up Turner for the cops, the two swing off heading to the roof of Horizon University, and the art does a good job at contrasting the two Spider-Man. Aside from the black and blue, the red in Otto's costume is a darker shade, and while the lenses in Otto's mask are white like Peter's, they're more like slits compared to the more rounded ones Peter has. Peter reveals that Anna had called him, worried about how Otto was acting. Peter says he should be happy since his actions during the War of the Realms lead to San Francisco suffering no casualties. Otto then finally lets loose, talking about the casualties the Ice Giants had caused in other towns across the United States. Mask off and tears in his eyes, he admits he feels undeserving of the recognition in his own city, thinking he should have done more to help others elsewhere. Peter tells him that while Otto's still new to the hero thing that the way he's feeling right now "means [he's] doing it right" and that he shouldn't be so hard on himself. Peter then leaves on telling Otto he "might just have a future at this". Knowing how this story goes, rereading that line kind of hurt.
Emma then comes up to the roof, believing correctly that she saw him swing up there. Otto tries to brush her off. When she doesn't leave, Otto lashes out with tears still in his eyes: "What did I look like? Weak? As if I need help? AS IF I NEED A DAMN THING FROM ANYONE?" Otto then falls down to his knees, letting it all out as Emma embraces him. This is another moment that shows this version of Otto had much potential to be an even better Superior Spider-Man compared to the previous one.
The two later get coffee at a café and it goes well, with Emma helping Otto with his trouble mind and the two inevitably kiss. But unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by a spider on the side of a building. This is no ordinary spider, however, as it belongs to a swarm of spiders that compose Spiders-Man. Spiders-Man is alternate reality Peter Parker who fell into a radioactive colony of spiders that ate him, absorbing his consciousness in the process and becoming a hive-mind. Basically think of Million Ants from that episode of "Rick and Morty", except somewhat crazy and enjoys eating people. Spiders-Man is acting on the orders of an alternate reality Norman Osborn who had become the Spider-Man of his world, and just because he has spider powers doesn't makes this version of Norman less of a jerk. For a little backstory, these two characters were introduced in the "Spider-Geddon" event as part of the Spider-Army to fight the Inheritors until they were kicked out by Otto for their selfish behavior. In retaliation, they destroyed the Web of Life and Destiny (which is used by spider characters to travel across the multiverse), intending to trap the Spider-Army and the Inheritors on the prime Marvel Earth together, while Norman took a piece for himself for his own means. So to sum it up, Spider-Norman plans to have his revenge on the Superior Spider-Man.
Issue ten shows Otto giving Emma a swing across the city before going to visit James Martin, the young boy who lost his mother that Otto consoled back in issue four. James has been staying with his aunt and uncle who are in the process of becoming his legal guardians, and Otto has been making regular visits to the boy. James' therapist says the visits have been helping him cope with his loss, and Otto says it's meant a lot to himself as well. Otto then meets up with Emma back at his apartment as they begin talking about the idea of having children themselves. That seems to be moving pretty fast, which Emma even mentions, but considering Otto revealed his true identity on their first date, maybe that's just the speed of their relationship. She also brings up that her age probably rules out biological kids, but Otto reminds her that he is clearly a master at genetic manipulation.
So things seem to be going well for Otto, with a city and woman who adore him. Well, considering he partly has Peter Parker's DNA, this is the perfect time for him to fall victim to the dreaded "Parker Luck." The conversation Otto and Emma are having is interrupted by a news report on TV with the headline "Is the SF Spider-Man Really Doc Ock?" Uh oh.
This obviously makes the news cycle onto the next day. While the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, and even Peter as Spider-Man have vouched for his change in character, things aren't helped when the Brothers Grimm are interviewed as well, revealing that Otto had paid them for their services. If that's not bad enough, Otto then realizes how this news might have an effect on James. Otto suits up and heads to the apartment of James' aunt and uncle, and they're not happy with him either. They tell Otto that they may lose custody of James due to letting him associate with a known criminal. Otto apologizes and plans to provide them a signed notary that they had no idea of his true identity before asking to say goodbye to James. James is clearly hurt by Otto's deception, as Otto does his best to apologize and bid farewell. Before Otto leaves, James asked why he lied to him. Otto responds "I..I wanted you to like me." James then runs up to Otto and the two hug. If that ain't forgiveness, I don't know what is.
Later, Otto, under his new persona of Elliot Tolliver, is met by Max Modell at Horizon University. Max tells "Elliot" that he had received an e-mail about his true identity as Otto Octavius. Max reveals that he already knew the truth based on the new Spider-Man in San Francisco and he had Tolliver's DNA tested (and yet the guy never figured out Peter's double life). But Max believes in second chances, referencing his own work with Michael Morbius, and wanted to give Otto the chance the prove himself. Like his meeting with James, this is another instance of Otto's situation not being all bad. The two then agree to figure out who's trying to sabotage Otto's life.
The two figure out that the e-mail Max received was sent from an internet café and pull up security footage. While Max sees no one there, Otto's lenses enhance the footage enough to see spiders on the keyboard and realizes who's responsible. As it turns out, Spiders-Man was in the building with them. His escape attempt is foiled by Otto trapping his "prime spider" in a energy bubble. Otto makes Spiders-Man reveal that he was working for Spider-Norman, claiming he's back on his own world. Otto and Max are joined by Anna Maria as they head toward a transdimensional viewer they were working on, which Otto intends to modify to allow travel as well. However, they need a massive amount of cosmic energy, to which Anna Maria reveals the cosmic harness she had hidden away after the fight with Terrax. Otto realizes why she hid it, and while hurt, admits it was a logical decision. The Living Brain begins filtering the cosmic energy into the viewer, but it's too much. Otto tells it to stop until it begins talking in Norman's voice, leading to an explosion that takes out a large portion of Horizon University. Otto is ravaged while Anna and Max are unconscious as Spider-Norman makes himself known, revealing that he had been in their universe for weeks. Otto tries to take on Norman but is in no shape. Otto tells him to just kill him and get it over with, but Norman wants him to suffer. Norman reveals his plan to kill anyone Otto cares for even slightly, leaving Otto in the rubble, laughing on his spider-glider as issue ten ends.
Issue eleven picks up with Otto helping coordinate fire and rescue at Horizon University. Anna Maria has no major injuries while Max is stable and headed to the hospital. Otto is able to find Emma unconscious and gets her into an ambulance. Anna tells Otto she'll handle things from there so he can go after Norman. Otto realizes Norman will be going after James next and contacts the Night Shift to meet him at his address. Things don't go well for the Night Shift as they're made short work of by both Spider-Norman and Spiders-Man. Norman chases after James and his family on his spider-glider before being knocked off by a swing-kick from Otto. While Otto does his best, his injuries from the explosion still make him weak, which Norman takes advantage of. Norman then taunts Otto about when he had fought his own world's Norman, he admitted failure and returned Peter's body back to him. So by this point, it was already clear that this volume of "Superior Spider-Man" was ending, and Norman's comments here made me realize why he was the perfect choice for the series' last villain. Norman Osborn was the one villain Otto couldn't beat during his original time as Spider-Man, so him having to face Norman in some fashion was a great way for Otto to make up for his past failure.
Anyway, Norman snatches up James and flies up on his glider. Otto begs him not to hurt the boy and will do anything he asks. Norman, enjoying his groveling, gives Otto an ultimatum: he has two hours to kill three innocent people on camera in front of the whole world, or James dies. Otto accepts, passing out as Norman flies off with the boy.
Otto then awakes in the hospital, greeted by Anna Maria who tells him he had been asleep for an hour and a half. Anna apprises him of the situation, revealing that the Night Shift are alive all things considered and that Emma is in a medically induced coma. After quickly visiting Emma in her room, Otto knows he has to do something with what little time he has left to save James. He knows that Norman will kill James no matter what Otto does, but he does have an idea. Otto puts out a frequency he had picked up during his and Strange's fight with Pandemonium and summons Mephisto.
Otto offers Mephisto a deal: he wishes to be transformed back into his true form of Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus for one day, believing that he needs to be as ruthless as he used to be to match Osborn. Mephisto declines this but offers a counter-proposal: he'll transform him back into Doc Ock permanently, with no trace of Peter Parker in him. He'll remember the experiences he's had since transferring his mind into Peter's body, but will have none of the memories that turned him into a hero in the first place; Mephisto is basically wanting Otto to prove that he can be a hero in his own right. Anna Maria takes her role as the angel on Otto's shoulder to a whole new level as she tries to talk Otto out of accepting the deal, saying they'll find another way. The two make their arguments as Mephisto tells him it's time to make his choice.
We then cut to the Brothers Grimm hiding out in a hotel room, planning to get out of town before either Otto or Norman come after them, revealing that Norman had paid them to go on TV and talk about Otto. The issue ends with the brothers being attacked not by the Superior Spider-Man, but Doctor Octopus, demanding to know where Osborn is. Yes, Otto is back with the metal arms, green and yellow jumpsuit, and even the Moe Howard mop-top haircut.
The twelfth and final issues begins with Norman in a penthouse where he's keeping James hostage. Into the room enters "Elliot Tolliver" and a homeless looking man with his face obscured by his hoodie and trench coat, claiming Norman would want to witness him kill someone firsthand. Norman agrees and gets the camera drone ready, going up to the man for a closer look. A metal arm comes out of the trench coat and snaps Elliot's neck, revealing himself to be Doctor Octopus and that the Elliot with them was a mindless excess clone being controlled by one of his octobots. Norman radios Spiders-Man for help, but we see he's being vaporized one spider at a time by Ock's legion of octobots and spider-bots. Norman doesn't think Otto having his original body back changes anything, that he's still the villain trying to play hero, and threatens to toss James out the window. Ock does nothing to stop Norman from doing so or even tries to save James after the fact. A shocked Norman turns the cameras on so the world can see him kill Otto himself. Ock has back-up though as he's able to mentally summon and control multiple harnesses for his arms he's used over the years. From what I was able to count, he used four to contain Osborn, as well as a fifth to save James from his fall outside his building. Ock then uses the arms to break Osborn's bones in such a way that he'll never fully recover; Ock claims this isn't brutality, but it seems pretty brutal. He then steals the fragment of the Web of Life and Destiny Norman had in his possession, using it to send him back to his world, as well as intending to find his own use for it. Ock then uses the camera drone to make his declaration to the world that Doctor Octopus is back, and that anyone who threatens him or any of his associates during his time as the Superior Spider-Man will meet a fate even worse than what he just did to Osborn.
As a brief aside, I kind of wish they gave Doc Ock another look for his return. Yes, it's a classic look, but the way Mike Hawthorne draws him makes it seem like they plucked him from the 60's or 70's books; it just seems out of place in today's age in my opinion. I mean, why not the green/yellow armor he wore in the 90's animated series, the trench coat look of the 2000's, or even a mix like on the "Spectacular Spider-Man" animated series? That being said though, I do think Hawthorne does a good job with Ock's face, making it clear that he's as despicable outside as is inside with his original body back. It's almost toad-like, like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter.
Later at the hospital, Emma has awakened form her coma and Anna Maria fills her in on what Otto had done. Ock then arrives, revealing that he has no knowledge of Spider-Man's true identity or any of his memories, but does recall some of his time as Elliot Tolliver. Ock claims he came to them to tell them that this chapter in his life was over and say goodbye, but Anna Maria tries to call him out, believing that he wants them to get him to stay. She says Doctor Octopus could be a force for good, and that she, Emma, and Max could help him, if only he gives himself a chance. Ock rebuffs them, telling him to stay away from him as he leaves. However, once out of their sight, we see tears in his eyes. I think this hints at Otto possibly having more memories than he's letting on, but I guess this will be left up to whoever writes Otto whenever he shows up next after this series.
A week later, a funeral is held for Elliot Tolliver. At first I thought this was more of symbolic funeral for the man Otto had been to those at Horizon, but then I realized only Anna, Max, and Emma knew his true identity. For everyone else present, they had no knowledge of this and think Elliot was just a casualty between Doctor Octopus and Spider-Norman. From a distance, Ock is watching. After leaving his Superior Spider-Man suit in the garbage, he walks off, with the final page paying homage to famous "Spider-Man No More" splash page from one of the times Peter had quit way back in Amazing Spider-Man #50.
I hate how this ended. I will be clear though, Christos Gage had crafted a well-written story. The ending doesn't exactly suck, but it is disappointing. Apparently someone at Marvel really wanted to bring Doc Ock back to his villainous ways. At least when this seemed to be happening during "The Clone Conspiracy", Otto still had some of his experiences as Spider-Man to build off of. Bringing him back this time, but with his status-quo to pre-Superior Spider-Man, undoes over six years of development.
In a way, this is very similar to the ending of the original Superior Spider-Man run, with Otto sacrificing the life he had in order to save someone he cared about. But comparisons will be more likely made to "One More Day" given Mephisto's involvement. This is handled much better though. Otto had been painted into a corner. He had a very limited timeframe and any attempts to outwit Norman or call in back-up would have resulted in the death of a young boy. Compare that to "One More Day" where so many characters had been written poorly. Of all the examples I can bring up, I think it comes down to this: Peter Parker is supposed to be a hero, while Otto Octavius' villainous history is abundantly clear. Otto making a deal with the devil makes sense given his past nature. Peter is supposed to be above that sort of thing. While he was trying to save his aunt, who had been dying due to his actions, you could see it as a way of him trying to avoid taking responsibility instead of letting her die and accept the consequences. That's why so many people were angry after "One More Day" occurred. At the very least, only Otto's character had been hurt compared to the scale of character assassination that came from Peter's deal. Still, I hate the fact that Mephisto has become a regular part of the Spider-Man mythos.
So for fans of the Superior Spider-Man, if you were there at the beginning, you should at least be there for the end. Then again, we've thought we've seen the last of the Superior Spider-Man before only for him to return. However, this time feels a bit more definite.
